Banned Songs: Ohio

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A week from today I should be pretty loopy after the procedure. I don’t think you’ll notice any difference, though. Speaking of “loopy,” let’s get into another one of those “you’re kidding me” songs banned from radio stations at one time. Sing along, ‘cause y’all know this one. Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young Hey, David Crosby’s back on this list! Let me check to see if almost cutting your hair was an offense worthy of a song ban back then. Well, that is part of the problem. In order to understand how polarizing this song is you have to understand that time and the ideological war that was going on. (Right now is a similar example.) The older generation was all “The Fightin’ Side of Me” and “Okie From Muskogee,” while the younger folks — the people who were of draft age — were protesting the Vietnam War. Everything was about as polar opposite as it could be: the conservative, well-dressed versus the long-haired jeans and tie-dye shirt folks. The older generation saw the young people as, in the words of Merle Haggard’s song, “running down our country, hoss.” No, just running down the stupid politics that got us into that mess to begin with. Anyway…you know what happened on May 4, 1970. A few days later, Neil Young had written this and CSNY had rushed into the studio to record it. (Crosby’s obituary earlier this year included stories about how he was literally in tears as he cried “why?” and “how many more” at the end of the recording.) Taking the students’ side at the time was unpopular. According to Picky Wedia, only 11% of the people polled thought the National Guard was responsible. Nearly sixty percent thought the students brought it on themselves. Because of that, a lot of stations would not play “Ohio” when it was released four weeks after the Kent State tragedy. The state of Ohio led the way with the ban, but other stations around the country, particularly in conservative strongholds, wouldn’t give it airplay, either. All of this sounds funny (in a sad way) now, because we now know what happened. Back then, though, in the aftermath of the governor of Ohio calling campus protestors “worse that [Nazi] brown shirts or [KKK] night riders,” standing with the students was not the popular route to go. But that’s part of what art is supposed to do for us and to us. Ohio Written by Neil Young Recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young Released as a single, 1970 Reason banned: politically offensive Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming: